RegAlert2026-06-12 | PDF OnlyAdded · Updated
Section 314(b) Fact Sheet
FinCEN issued this fact sheet to clarify the permissibility of real-time information sharing under section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, specifying that financial institutions and associations may share data regarding fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing. The document confirms that sharing is voluntary and protected by a safe harbor from liability, allowing for the exchange of various data types including transaction records, surveillance footage, and cyber-related indicators without BSA limitations on personally identifiable information. It further establishes that entities forming associations need not be regulated financial institutions themselves and that unincorporated associations governed by contract are eligible to participate. Additionally, the guidance permits financial institutions to file joint Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) after collaborating through section 314(b), while maintaining strict prohibitions against disclosing the existence of SARs to non-participating parties.
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Issue Date: June 12, 2026
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing this fact sheet in support of Treasury’s efforts to promote greater information sharing between and among financial institutions to identify fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, narcotics trafficking and related crimes, sanctions evasion, and other criminal activity. This fact sheet further clarifies: (1) the permissibility of real-time information sharing under section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act; (2) under what circumstances information, including related to fraud, can be shared; and (3) how information can be shared. This fact sheet expands upon and replaces FinCEN’s December 2020 fact sheet.1 What is section 314(b)?
Section 314(b) provides financial institutions with the ability to share information with
one another, under a safe harbor that offers protections from liability, to improve the identification and reporting of activities that may involve money laundering or terrorist activities.2 Participation in information sharing pursuant to section 314(b) is voluntary. FinCEN strongly encourages financial institutions to participate in the program as information sharing between and among financial institutions can assist financial institutions in managing illicit financing risks and can ultimately provide the government with highly useful information to identify and prevent financial crime.3 Among other things, information sharing pursuant to section 314(b) allows financial institutions to respond to threats—activities a financial institution suspects may involve possible terrorist activity or money laundering, such as fraud and other criminal activity—that are carried out by repeat actors moving across financial institutions to evade detection. The section 314(b) program provides financial institutions with the flexibility and connectivity needed to counter these threats and prevent bad actors from exploiting gaps between institutions. [Updated June 12, 2026]
- FinCEN, Section 314(b) Fact Sheet (Dec. 2020),
www.fincen.gov/system/files/2026-06/314bfactsheet-12-2020.pdf. - See Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Pub. L. No. 107-56, 115 Stat. 272 (Oct. 26, 2001), § 314(b); 31 C.F.R. §§ 1010.540(a), (b)(5). - See, e.g., FinCEN, FIN-2025-G001, Cross-Border Information Sharing by Financial Institutions and SAR
Confidentiality (Sept. 5, 2025), www.fincen.gov/system/files/2025-09/Crossborderguidance-508C.pdf.
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Lineage: In force
Source: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — original document · Summary generated with machine assistance and reviewed before publication; the authoritative text is the regulator's original document. How RegAlert works